WASHINGTON – Today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) served as Ranking Member and rebuked Democrats’ efforts to punish law-abiding gun owners under the guise of public health. He also highlighted the implementation of his Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which has led to more than 100 new charges against cartel members and firearm traffickers and made the single largest investment in community-based mental health care in U.S. history. Excerpts are below, and video can be found here.

“We have a trust issue and a constitutional issue when we use the public health approach to attempt to strip away core constitutional rights.”

“The most effective solution to firearm-related homicides and assault is effective criminal law enforcement. That means effective police, prosecutors, courts, and prisons.”

“If you empower law enforcement to selectively investigate and prosecute repeat offenders, you can dramatically reduce the gun violence in a community where it’s a problem.”

“The other side of the gun violence issue is mental health.”

“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which we did pass, made the single largest investment in community-based mental health care in American history.”

“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s new criminal penalties on firearm trafficking have led to more than 100 new charges against dangerous cartel members and firearms traffickers. The enhanced juvenile records check alone has stopped 400 transactions of people who would ordinarily flunk a background check were they an adult.”

“We can find ways to come together to get things done, but using public health authorities as a blanket excuse to strip away constitutional rights divides us more than it unites us.”